Please review my 4BR 2-story Minnesota home (again)

minneapolisiteMay 3, 2012

Please take a look and let me know if you seen any potential design hiccups or suggestions for minor tweaks. :)

We are a young couple (aged 28-30) with a 6-month-old and plans for at least one more child. I work from home (at the computer) so I can stay home with my son. We cook dinner together almost every night. We have small dinner parties (4 adults + kids) several times a month, and we have a one or two big parties (20+ guests) each year. Our parents/siblings live a great distance from us and travel to visit us frequently.

About the lot

This is a 0.36-acre east-facing corner lot (north points right on these drawings). The right side (north) faces another house, the front (east) faces an outlot, the left side (south) faces a house across a wide street, and the back (west) faces undevelopable treed wetlands across a wide street. The lot is slightly sloped so the house will have a basement with a walk-out on the south side.

Front elevation

Colors/materials are still up in the air (the builder provided a line drawing and I colored it in). I've also asked the builder to draw/price a version w/ gambrel gables.

First Floor

Primary concerns:

(1) Foyer closet. I'm torn between having one long bench instead of a closet, making the hall closet a "reach in" instead of a "walk in," or just leaving it the way it is. If we make it one long bench, I'd need to find another storage solution for things like lightbulbs, batteries, board games, etc.

(2) Wall oven/microwave location. I'm not sure if I like it right next to the doorway. Moving it in a few feet breaks up the counter run between it and the fridge, but I don't want to move it right next to the fridge because I'll want that space for when I'm pulling ingredients out of the fridge.

(3) A first floor bedroom isn't important for resale in this neighborhood, and we'll probably want to downsize by the time we have trouble with stairs. In the unlikely event that we decide to stay in this house as an elderly couple, at that time we will be able to afford to renovate to add a first-floor bedroom.